Description
The initial checkout of a Panasonic DECT 6 Plus cordless phone model KX-TG7531. The unit has caller ID, a digital answering system with the older Panasonic voice, and perhaps most notably, oddly elongated displays. The set likely dates back to sometime around 2011 through 2013.
Panasonic seemed to take a considerable dip in quality in the early 2010s, and unfortunately this model doesn't seem to be an exception. I actually really don't like this model.
The displays are my biggest gripe with the unit. I initially thought they were going to be color, but they're just regular dot-matrix monochrome. These displays are about two thirds larger than the typical Panasonic phone, and I have absolutely no idea what the benefit of this is aside from advertising. Aside from some slightly larger fonts, which could have been even larger, the software doesn't make any noteworthy use of the extra room on the display besides being able to list more items at once, which isn't worthless, but certainly isn't worth the downsides.
Since the display is taking up so much space, the buttons are moved down lower on the phone, shrunk, and compacted. In addition to being too small, they're also difficult to use as you have to hold the phone so low down for the buttons to be comfortably accessed by your thumb. Poor ergonomics in this regard. Visibility is also poor in low-light conditions, the extra large display has a blaring bright white backlight which is absolutely blinding in the middle of the night and has enough glare to completely down out the subtle amber backlight of the numbers.
The center navigation button also follows a different design on this one, replacing the center soft key with a button in the center of the directional button. This is OK, but the software wasn't customized well to match this, resulting in an interface that's not logical and feels unrefined.
The call quality on Talk is completely satisfactory. Speakerphone is a different story. The incoming audio is hollow and crackly, pickup is just average at best. Really leaves a lot to be desired for the premium Panasonic name of years prior.
The shiny black plastic on the base and cradles that will show every speck of dust that lands on the units is also a mystery to me. I've never seen this before on any other Panasonic unit and it really looks quite cheap and tacky. Then there's also the 50-entry phonebook capacity which is absolutely pathetic in size.
The original retail price for this particular set was only $116, which is far less than I was expecting it to be. I suppose you get what you pay for. This is a very unimpressive system with an unrefined feel that probably sold exclusively based on marketing claims surrounding the larger displays [that offer no significant benefit in this use case]. There's clearly some QC and/or longevity concerns as well, one out of 4 displays has failed, and one of out 4 speakers has failed. While I can't say for certain, this system doesn't look like it was particularly mistreated over the years, so these failures are probably of natural causes.